The present invention relates to an improved sound bar musical instrument, and more particularly relates to improvement in construction of an electronic sound bar musical instrument which generates, in addition to ordinary tones, electronically formed tones.
When playing a sound bar musical instrument such as a xylophone or a marimba, a performer has to operate not only its sound bars but also electronic drum and/or control switches for sound effectors. In order to carry out such a combined performance, the electronic drum and, for example, a marimba are arranged close to each other and the performer stands on one side of the marimba. The performer then batters sound bars of the marimba with a mallet and, concurrently, batters panels of the electronic drum which is arranged on the other side of the marimba extending over the sound bars of the marimba.
In order to enable the single performer to operate the marimba and the electronic drum at the same time, the panels of the marimba have to be arranged within the ambit of the mallet operated by the performer. For this reason the panels of the electronic drum are conventionally arranged above the sound bars of the marimba. With such an arrangement, the performer can swiftly batter the panels during performance of the marimba. When the mallet is swung wide for rhythm adjustment, however, the mallet is likely to hit the panels unexpectedly and this greatly limits free action of the performer. Further, when panels of relatively large batter heads are arranged above the marimba, visual contact of the performer with the audience is greatly reduced and, as a consequence, the performer cannot catch the sentimental reaction of the audience.